I’ve been using 10-10-10 fertilizer as salt/traction improver for icy sidewalks for several years now and am very happy with the approach. The milk jug spreader and the inverted half-jug filler funnel work great.
Less great is managing the bag of fertilizer I refill the jug from. Cutting a corner off for an opening and rolling it up and clamping it with a soon-rusty bulldog clamp to reclose it worked, but was ugly and unpleasant to use.
I just ran out of fertilizer and had to get a new bag, so that was the impetus for finally making a much better spout. I cut the bag corner just large enough to fit a cutoff large HDPE bottle with a screw cap. I sprayed the outside of the bottle with an Elmer’s multipurpose spray adhesive before putting it in, but I expect the hose clamp would have held it together quite well even without the glue.
The first jug fillup was a much more pleasant experience than working with the rusty old clamp setup. For simple and free, I think I’ve solved my sidewalk fertilizer bag management problem!
Update 12/6/18: Double win! I’ve been out of sidewalk fertilizer for a while and finally got a new bag. I vaguely recalled that there was something about a better spout – probably screw-top – but couldn’t remember what I did. When I said I might have documented it here, Lauren cleverly looked it up, found it immediately, and showed me how I’d done it.
Perfect! My project notes did precisely what they’re here to do, and Lauren sweetly and efficiently beat me to it to show me what I needed. Couldn’t ask for more.
Oh, and sure enough: It works just fine even without the mess of spray adhesive. That hose clamp isn’t going anywhere.